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Yan, tyan, tethera, methera, pimp, sethera, lethera, hovera, dovera, dick. Sin cunntadh gu deich. Ach dè an cànan a tha ann? Seo e a-rithist. Leanaidh mi gu ceithir-deug an turas seo. Yan, tyan, tethera, methera, pimp, sethera, lethera, hovera, dovera, dick, yanadick, tyanadick, tetheradick, metheradick.

            Tha e car coltach ri Cuimris ʼs dòcha. Co-dhiù, tha pimp cuideachd a’ ciallachadh ‘còig’ ann an Cuimris. Agus chan eil e eucoltach ris a’ Ghàidhlig – yan, a h-aon, yanadick, a h-aon-deug. Co-dhiù, seo an dòigh anns am biodh tuathanaich ann am Cumbria gu traidiseanta a’ cunntadh nan caorach aca.

            Tha feadhainn ag ràdh gu bheil an siostam air a bhonntachadh air Seann Bhreatannais – cànan Ceilteach. Bha an cànan sin aig na daoine mus d’ fhuair na h-Anglaich làmh-an-uachdair orra.

            Tha e a’ cur nar cuimhne gu bheil dualchas Ceilteach aig Sasainn. Agus tha sin gam thoirt gu Rheged. Taobh a-muigh na Cùirn, na Cuimrigh agus Shrath Chluaidh, b’ e Rheged an rìoghachd Bhreatannach mu dheireadh ann am Breatainn. Tha mi a’ ciallachadh le sin Breatannach Ceilteach.

            Bha Rheged timcheall far a bheil Cumbria an-diugh. Cumbria – dùthaich nan Cuimreach. Thathar a’ smaoineachadh gun d’ fhuair an rìoghachd a h-ainm bhon treubh Cheilteach – na Brigantes. Dh’atharraich Brigant gu Breged gu Rheged. Thàinig i gu bith às dèidh do na Ròmanaich falbh, timcheall na bliadhna ceithir cheud is caogad (450). B’ e a’ chiad rìgh aca fear Gwrast.

            Bha Gwrast air a leantainn le a mhac a bu shine – Meirchion. An dèidh bàs Mheirchion, anns a’ bhliadhna còig ceud, trithead ʼs a còig (535), chaidh an rìoghachd a dhèanamh na dhà leth – Rheged a’ Chinn a Tuath agus Rheged a’ Chinn a Deas. B’ e Cathair Luail prìomh bhaile na rìoghachd mu thuath.

            Goirid an dèidh sin, tha sinn a’ cluinntinn mun rìgh a b’ ainmeile aig Rheged – fear Urien. Bha esan na rìgh anns a’ cheann a tuath. Ach bha nàimhdean aige air gach taobh. Bha na Berniciaich – sluagh Anglach – air an taobh sear, agus bha nàimhdean Ceilteach aige ann an Srath Chluaidh cuideachd. Bidh tuilleadh agam dhuibh air a’ chuspair seo an-ath-sheachdain.

Yan, tyan, tethera, methera, pimp, sethera, lethera, hovera, dovera, dick. That’s counting to ten. But what language is it? Here it is again. I’ll continue to fourteen this time. Yan, tyan, tethera, methera, pimp, sethera, lethera, hovera, dovera, dick, yanadick, tyanadick, tetheradick, metheradick.

        It’s a bit similar to Welsh, perhaps. Anyway, pimp also means ‘five’ in Welsh. And it’s not unlike Gaelic – yan, a h-aon, yanadick, a h-aon-deug. Anyway, this is the way that farmers in Cumbria would traditionally be counting their sheep.

        Some people say that the system is based on Old Brittonic – a Celtic language. The people spoke that language before the Angles came to dominate them.

        It reminds us that England has a Celtic heritage. And that brings me to Rheged. Outside Cornwall, Wales and Strathclyde, Rheged was the last British kingdom in Britain. I mean by that Celtic British.

        Rheged was around where Cumbria is today. Cumbria – the land of the Cumbric (Welsh). It’s thought that the kingdom got its name from the Celtic tribe – the Brigantes. Brigant changed to Breged, then Rheged. It came into being after the Romans left, around the year 450. Their first king was a certain Gwrast.

        Gwrast was followed by his eldest son – Meirchion. After Meirchion’s death, in the year 535, the kingdom was divided into two halves – North Rheged and South Rheged. Carlisle was the capital of the northern kingdom.

        Shortly after that, we hear about Rheged’s most famous king – a certain Urien. He was the king in the north. But he had enemies on all sides. The Bernicians – an Anglian people – were to the east, and he had Celtic enemies in Strathclyde also. I’ll have more for you on this subject next week.